A Thirsty Tourist in Thailand

I spent Thanksgiving week traveling through Thailand. It was my first trip there, and hopefully not my last – the country is amazing! I love the people, the culture, the food, the views….and the free bottled water? Yes, you read that correctly – free bottled water. In Thailand, it is standard to receive 2-3 complimentary bottles of water in your hotel room, despite assurance from the government that the tap water is safe to drink. As most tourists do, I erred on the side of “better safe than sorry”, and took the bottled water. Though I must admit, I was somewhat ashamed to do so.

A second reason lies in the likelihood that the existing water infrastructure is in poor condition. Thailand, like many other Asian countries, is facing severe water stress and deteriorating quality of local water sources due to rapid growth in population, increasing urbanization, and agricultural and industrial expansion. Coupled with extreme droughts and severe flooding, water networks are being forced to handle intermittent water supplies, unequal water distributions, and fluctuating water pressures. As a result, underground (“invisible”) pipes are corroding and bursting in a country with insufficient financial resources to track, locate, and fix problem areas. The idea of a neglected water network that may be introducing new contaminants to the treated water rushing through its system left me questioning the quality of Thailand’s drinking water and searching for more water bottles.

I’m not saying that drinking the tap water would have ruined my trip, but I am saying that I wasn’t convinced enough to take the chance. There were too many amazing things to do and see…